Digital Commons Network^™

Vaginal Discharge: Perceptions And Health Seeking Behavior Among Nepalese Women, Narjis Rizvi, Stephen Luby

Community Health Sciences

Objectives: To understand women's perceptions and health seeking behavior and the association between vaginal discharge, clinical signs and laboratory findings as a presentation of sexually transmitted diseases (STD).Methods: We conducted five focus group discussions with women attending the outpatient department in a large public hospital in Katmandu, Nepal, during May-June 1997. We also interviewed seventy women presenting with vaginal discharge to the same hospital, through structured questionnaire. Women presenting with discharge were also examined and investigated for six common sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive tract infections.Results: In the focus groups vaginal discharge was identified as a common disease distinct from …

Population Dynamics Of Three Amphibian Species Across The Sheyenne National Grassland Of Southeastern North Dakota, Bartholomew L. Bly

Theses and Dissertations

Concerns over worldwide declines of amphibians, including some to extinction, has increased the urgency for understanding how amphibians interact within local environments and across regional landscapes. Hypotheses for declines include anthropogenic destruction and fragmentation of amphibian habitat, introduction of exotic predators and competitors, increased ultraviolet (UV-B) irradiation, acid precipitation, environmental contamination by pollutants, harsh climatic conditions, over harvesting, and infectious disease. Three different types of models were developed for the northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens), gray tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum diaboli), and gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor/chrysoscelis complex) populations inhabiting the Sheyenne National Grassland (SNG) in southeastern North Dakota. The …

Psychological Distress Between American Indian And Majority Culture College Students Regarding The Use Of The Fighting Sioux Nickname And Logo, Angela Laroque

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate to what extent, the “Fighting Sioux” Nickname and Logo affects American Indian and Majority Culture college students emotionally. This study compared American Indian and Majority Culture students’ differences of emotional reactions and distress to twc different slide presentations using images of the “Fighting Sioux” Nickname and Logo found around the campus of the University of North Dakota (UND). The main focus was to examine the possible psychological side effects.

Participants consisted of 36 Majority Culture and 33 American Indian College students in attendance at UND. Each participant filled out an informed consent …

Phosphorylation Of Skeletal Muscle Acetyl-Coa Carboxylase By Ampk Enhances Palmitoyl-Coa Inhibition, Dustin S. Rubink

Theses and Dissertations

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) catalyzes the formation of malnoyl-CoA, which in turn controls the rate of fatty acid metabolism. ACC beta or 2 has been shown to be localized on the mitochondria in close proximity to carnintine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT-1), the enzyme responsible for the influx of acyl-CoA into the matrix where beta oxidation takes place. CPT-1 is inhibited by malonyl-CoA produced by ACC. It has been well documented that AMP activated kinase (AMPK) when activated phosphorylates and inactivates ACC. ACC is controlled allosterically by citrate, which activates, and by palmitoyl-COA, which inhibits. In this study, we asked the question, …

Who Wants A Buffalo? South Dakota's Fenced Herds And Experiments In Management, 1901–1952, David Nesheim

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

By 1890, the number of North American bison (Bison bison) in the United Sates was reduced to about 500 animals. At that time, a few private ranchers started small herds from remnant survivors of the hide trade. Fredrick Dupree saved nine calves on his ranch near the Moreau River in South Dakota.

Between 1901 and 1913, three fenced preserves were created in the state. James Philip, a Pierre rancher, purchased the Dupree herd in 1901. The state of South Dakota created Custer State Game Preserve in 1913. The Federal government, in concert with the American Bison Society, created the Wind …

Hope And Misgiving About Lawyers, Consensus-Building, And Social Problem-Solving, Jennifer Gerarda Brown

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Dialogue: December 2004, Staff And Writers Of Dialogue

Dialogue

01 — What a Horrible Night for a Curse — Juan Garcia
02 — Editorial — Kevin Buist
04 — Installation view of untitled works — Raleigh Chadderdon
05 — Test #09 — Kyle Schultz
06 — Diddo #9 — Cody Shaffer
07 — I Shivered and Awoke — Jacklyn Abbas
07 — A fantasy on Oxford in Fall — Nathan Sytsma
08 — Growing is for Children — Ben Schaafsma
09 — Untitled — Jung Hyun (Peter), Nam
10 — Lost and Found on The Rapid — Stephen Kurczy
11 — Petrarch 140, Revisited — Ann Reilly
12 — …

Satellite Observations Of Annual Variability In Terrestrial Carbon Cycles And Seasonal Growing Seasons At High Northern Latitudes, John S. Kimball, Maosheng Zhao, Kyle C. Mcdonald, Faith Ann Heinsch, Steven W. Running

Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group Publications

Global satellite remote sensing records show evidence of recent vegetation greening and an advance in the onset of the growing season at high latitudes. We apply a terrestrial net primary production (NPP) model driven by satellite observations of vegetation properties and daily surface meteorology from an atmospheric GCM to assess spatial patterns, annual variability, and recent trends in vegetation productivity across Alaska and northwest Canada. We compare these results with regional observations of the timing of growing season onset derived from satellite passive microwave remote sensing measurements from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager, SSM/I. Our results show substantial variability in …

Soil Biota Facilitate Exotic Acer Invasions In Europe And North America, Kurt O. Reinhart, Ragan M. Callaway

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The primary hypothesis for successful exotic plant invasions is that the invaders have escaped the specialist consumers that control them (Enemy Release Hypothesis). However, few studies have rigorously tested this assertion with biogeographical experiments or considered the effects of soil organisms. We tested the Enemy Release Hypothesis and the enhanced role of mutualisms by comparing density patterns of the North American Acer negundo and European A. platanoides trees in their native and nonnative ranges. Invaders that have escaped their natural enemies are predicted to attain greater densities in nonnative than native ranges. To determine whether interactions with soil biota could …

Loss Of Enemy Resistance Among Introduced Populations Of St. John's Wort (Hypericum Perforatum), John L. Maron, Montserrat Vilà, John Arnason

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA) hypothesis predicts that introduced plants should lose enemy resistance and in turn evolve increased size or fecundity. We tested the first prediction of this hypothesis by growing introduced North American and native European genotypes of St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) in common gardens in the state of Washington, USA, and in Girona, Spain. In both gardens we measured levels of hypericin and pseudohypericin (and in Washington, hypericide)— compounds known to be toxic to generalist pathogens and herbivores. In a third common garden, in Spain, we experimentally manipulated native pathogen pressure (by …

Genome-Wide Analysis Of Gene Expression Changes In Drosophila Melanogaster With Variable Sensitivity To Mptp, Xinyu Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) treated mice and monkeys have been widely used as models for the study of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). The similarities between the toxic action of MPTP in PD animal models and the occurrence of dopamine (DA) neuron degeneration in human mutant a-synuclein transgenic fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) suggested that the fruit fly may share the same toxic response to MPTP as primates and planaria. We have hypothesized that relative sensitivity to MPTP in the fruit fly may represent a correlate to genetic predisposition to developing PD in human. Using the MPTP survival test for selection of insensitive flies and …

The Effects Of Exposure To Images Of The Male Muscular Ideal On Body Image And Muscularity Concerns In Men, Jason Alan Mccray

Theses and Dissertations

Though body-image has been well-researched in women for more than 40 years, theoretical discussions and empirical investigations addressing male body-image have only recently began to emerge. Work by Pope, Phillips and Olivardia (2000) has begun to identify the dynamics of male body-image distortions and the role media depictions of muscular men may play in their pathogenesis. The empirical literature is curiously devoid of experimental investigations of male responses to media and advertising depictions of muscular men.

The present study was designed to parallel the well-established literature examining women’s responses to fashion images in terms of changes in body-image and mood …

The Adaptiveness Of Punishing Behavior: A Baseline Study, Levente Littvay

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study sheds light on the current patterns of punishing behavior. Experimental work with ultimatum bargaining shows that individuals have a high sensitivity to fairness, and when taken advantage of, are willing to endure costs to punish deviant behavior. Third party observers of the unfair behavior asked to represent ultimatum recipients are more hesitant to engage in such punishment. This becomes ever more puzzling when we consider individuals’ high value of their own reputation in similar settings. This leaves both rational choice modelers and political psychologists puzzled. This study presents the baseline model for a research agenda proposing a multi-agent …

University Reporter - Volume 09, Number 04 - December 2004

1996-2009, University Reporter

This issue of the University Reporter includes articles about the Computer Science Department’s Visual Attention Laboratory and efforts to treat Schizophrenia, memorial services for U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Kyran E. Kennedy, new publications by faculty members, the establishment of the Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences Department, the appointment of Susan Moir as director of the Labor Resource Center, and other news from UMass Boston.

Bergmann's Clines In Ectotherms: Illustrating A Life-History Perspective With Sceloporine Lizards, Michael J. Angilletta Jr., Peter H. Niewiarowski, Arthur E. Dunham, Adam D. Leache, Warren P. Porter

Biology Faculty Research

The generality and causes of Bergmann's rule have been debated vigorously in the last few years, but Bergmann's clines are rarely explained in the context of life-history theory. We used both traditional and phylogenetic comparative analyses to explore the causes of latitudinal and thermal clines in the body size of the eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus). The proximate mechanism for larger body sizes in colder environments is delayed maturation, which results in a greater fecundity but a lower survival to maturity. Life-history theory predicts that a higher survivorship of juveniles in colder environments can favor the evolution of a Bergmann's …

Eliminating Adversary Wmd: What's At Stake?, Rebecca K.C. Hersman

WMD Occasional Papers

The failure to find substantial evidence of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in Iraq has exposed serious weaknesses in the U.S. understanding of the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threat posed by its adversaries as well as in its ability to deal effectively with these threats. A rancorous and highly politicized debate, primarily about the intelligence assessments of Iraqi WMD capabilities before Operation Iraqi Freedom, has dominated national discussion for months. Unfortunately, the current preoccupation with intelligence might mask other issues and shortcomings in the American ability to eliminate the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction in the hands …

Vessel-Based Pollution: Major Developments In 2004, Tasha J. Power

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Developments In Toxics In 2004: The Ratification Of The Stockholm Convention And The Rotterdam Convention, Julie B. Truelsen

Colorado Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Ab Initio Calculation Of Electronic And Optical Properties Of Beryllium Chalcogenides (Bes, Bese, And Bete) Under The Effect Of Pressure, Aisha Ali Saif Bannan Al-Kaabi

Theses

There are several methods for materials simulation. Ab initio or first principles methods are used to solve the quantum mechanical equation which govern the behavior of a system. Ab initio calculation of the optical and electronic properties of solids is fundamental in solid state physics. APW+lo is used to examine different properties of BeS, BeSe and BeTe. Beryllium compounds show different features in structure under different pressures, and they also show a phase transition from Zinc blende to Hexagonal transitions in II-VI semiconductors. Little is known about the ground state properties of Beryllium Chalcogenides. The aim of this work is …

Field Evidence For Geophysical Detection Of Subsurface Zones Of Enhanced Microbial Activity, Eliot A. Atekwana, Estella A. Atekwana, Franklyn D. Legall, R. V. Krishnamurthy

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Geochemical data from closely spaced vertical intervals in a hydrocarbon-impacted aquifer were used to assess the relationship between bulk conductivity and zones of enhanced microbial activity. The bulk conductivity was measured using in situ vertical resistivity probes. Microbial activity was verified using terminal electron acceptors (nitrate, sulfate, iron, and manganese), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and major ion chemistry. Peaks in bulk conductivity in the aquifer overlapped with zones where nitrates and sulfates were depleted, total petroleum hydrocarbon, iron, manganese, dissolved ions, and DIC were elevated, suggesting a link between higher electrical conductivity and zones of enhanced microbial activity stimulated by …

Annotation Manager: An Automated Web-Based Content Management System For Digital Libraries With Annotated Bibliographies, Frenny Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

With the expansion of the World Wide Web in the 90s, individuals (especially students) are always on a quest for information resources especially in the form of Web sites. Yet many of them are overwhelmed when faced with deciding which site will best suit their research needs. As a result, these individuals may select a resource for less than optimal reasons. To ease some of the burden, libraries have made great advances to provide a place to organize information resources. Such places are called library portals, and they typically provide a gateway to web resources by categorizing and annotating them …

Biodiesel: To Switch Or Not To Switch? A Greener Fuel Option For The Sjsu Shuttle Bus System, Olga Meydbray

Master's Projects

For the past several years the SJSU shuttle bus system has been the subject of anger from the residents living in the neighborhoods through which the shuttle buses travel several times daily. Individuals living in the Spartan-Keyes neighborhood, near the Spartan stadium, have been working with staff at the City of San Jose to reduce the amount of large truck and bus traffic in their neighborhood for several years.

The staff at the San Jose State University Police Department (UPD), the organization in charge of the campus shuttle bus system, is in a position to make a real difference in …

A Swarm Intelligence Based Approach To The Mine Detection Problem, Vignesh Munirajan

Theses

This research focuses on the application of swarm intelligence to the problem of mine detection. Swarm Intelligence concepts have captivated the interests of researchers mainly in collective robotics, optimization problems (traveling salesman problem (TSP), quadratic assignment problem, graph coloring etc.), and communication networks (routing) etc [1]. In the mine detection problem we are faced with sub problems such as searching for the mines over the minefield, defusing them effectively, and assuring that the field is clear of mines within the least possible time. In the problem, we assume that the mines can be diffused by the collective action of the …

New Computational Intelligence Algorithms And Their Applications, Hoi-Ming Chi, Okan K. Ersoy

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technical Reports

Several new computational intelligence algorithms and their applications are investigated in this thesis. First, a linear support vector machine decision tree (LSVMDT) is developed by building a binary tree with a linear support vector machine in each tree node. It has built-in rare event detection mechanism, and allows efficient rule extraction. Secondly, an efficient recursive update algorithm when new data becomes available is derived for least squares support vector machines. This is very essential in online learning. Thirdly, a three-layered learning system is proposed. It consists of a random mapping stage and a learning stage with ordinary least squares, error-correcting …

An Intramolecular Association Between Two Domains Of The Protein Kinase Fused Is Necessary For Hedgehog Signaling, Manuel Ascano Jr., David J. Robbins

Dartmouth Scholarship

The protein kinase Fused (Fu) is an integral member of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway. Although genetic studies demonstrate that Fu is required for the regulation of the Hh pathway, the mechanistic role that it plays remains largely unknown. Given our difficulty in developing an in vitro kinase assay for Fu, we reasoned that the catalytic activity of Fu might be highly regulated. Several mechanisms are known to regulate protein kinases, including self-association in either an intra- or an intermolecular fashion. Here, we provide evidence that Hh regulates Fu through intramolecular association between its kinase domain (ΔFu) and its carboxyl-terminal …

Developing A Database For Genbank Information., Nathan Mann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The thesis project, Gene Database, was done to create a way for the bioinformatics research group at the University of Louisville to have access to GenBank EST information in the form of a database. This database allows for a programmable front end to be used to conduct further research with the use of EST information. The database backend used is Oracle and was populated through a custom Java program. The loader was created in lieu of using Oracle's SQL*Loader because of the limitations in SQL*Loader. Previous ways of accessing the GenBank information included downloading the compressed files and using them …

Diel Foraging Behavior Of American White Pelicans ()Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos) On Experimental Aquaculture Ponds , Scott J. Werner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Videography and night vision equipment were used to observe the diurnal and nocturnal activities of American white pelicans (Pe1ecanus erythrorhynchos) (N= 6) foraging on three experimental (0.04 ha) channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) aquaculture ponds in March 2001. Captive pelicans spent most time foraging per hour from 1700 through 2300 h (CST). No foraging was observed from 0700 through 0800 h. Fish captures per hour were greatest from 1700 through 1900 h. On average, captive pelicans (N = 5) consumed 1.0 ± 0.2 kg of catfish per bird per day during the 10-d foraging …

Alligators As West Nile Virus Amplifiers, Kaci Klenk, Jamie Snow, Katrina Morgan, Richard Bowen, Michael Stephens, Falacia Foster, Paul Gordy, Susan Beckett, Nicholas Komar, Duane Gubler, Michael Bunning

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Recent evidence suggests that American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) may be capable of transmitting West Nile virus (WNV) to other alligators. We experimentally exposed 24 juvenile alligators to WNV parenterally or orally. All became infected, and all but three sustained viremia titers >5.0 log₁₀ PFU/mL (a threshold considered infectious for Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes) for 1 to 8 days. Noninoculated tankmates also became infected. The viremia profiles and multiple routes of infection suggest alligators may play an important role in WNV transmission in areas with high population densities of juvenile alligators.

Current And Historic Freshwater Mollusk Distributions Of The Upper Coosa River Basin, Sabrina Felicitas Novak

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis contains summary data from all Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute (TNARI) survey activities of freshwater mollusks within the upper Coosa River basin (UCRB) from 1998 to 2003. Survey results of 4 different TNARI studies, a total of 515 separate collections, are presented. My component of the study examined 231 sites primarily in the Coosawattee and Etowah river basins in 2002 - 2003. In addition to the 231 sites surveyed, a large database was constructed from natural history museum records to evaluate temporal changes in species richness and distribution across the UCRB. Of 43 mussel and 33 snail species reported …

A New Species Of The Genus Actium (Coleoptera : Staphylinidae : Pselaphinae) From Boreal Oldgrowth Forests Of Quebec, Canada, Donald S. Chandler, Pierre Paquin

New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Publications

A new species, Actium abitibiense Chandler et Paquin sp. nov., is described and is associated with old-growth boreal forests in western Quebec.